Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-07-15

| seat hear the men and women who helped
him down through the window and over the
wall talking in private over the matter, and
! saving: "HOw glad am that we effected that
rescued In coming times others may get the
glory of Paurs work, but no one shall rob
us OF the satisfaction of knowing that we
| held the rope.
Once for thirty-six hours we expected
| every moment TO go to the bottom of tire
ocean. The waves struck through the sky
! lights and rushed down into the hold of the
| ship and Kissed against the boilers IL was an
awful time but, by the blessing of God and
the faithtulness of the men in charge, we
came out of the cyclone and we arrived at
| home. Each one before leaving the ship
| thanked Captain Andrews. l do not think
| there was man or woman that went off
that ship without thanking Captain Andrews,
and when years after l heard of his death
was impelled to write letter of condo
| lence to his family in Liverpool. Ev-
| erybody recognized the goodness, the cour-
| age, the kindness of Captain Andrews; but
| 1t occurs to me now that we never thanked
the engineer. He stood away down in the
darkness amid the kissing furnaces doing his
whole duty. Nobody thanked the engineer,
but God recognized his heroism and his con-
| tnuance and his fidelity, and there will
be just as high reward for the engineer who
worked out of sight as for the captain who
stood on the bridge of the ship in the midst
of the bowling tempest
There are said to be about $1,000 ministers
of religion in this country. About $4,000 1
warrant came from early homes which had
to struggle for the neceSSaries of life. The
sons of rich bankers and merchants generally
| become bankers and merchants. The most
Of those who become ministers are the sons of
those who had terrific struggle to get their
| everyday bread. The collegiate and theologi-
cal education of that son took every luxury
from the parental table for eight years. The
other children were more Scantiy appareled.
The son at college every little while got a
bundle from home. In it were the socks that
mother had knit, sitting up late at
it was. And there also were some
delicacies from the sisters hand for
the voraciouS appetite of q hungry student.
The father swung the heavy cradle through
the wheat, the sweat rolling from his chin be-
dewing every step of the way. and then SIT
ting down under the cherry tree at noon
thinking to himself: II am fearfully tired, but
1t will pay if can once see that boy through
college, and if l can know that he will be
preaching the Gospel after am dead" The
younger children want to know why they
can't have this and that as others do, and the
mother says: "Be patient, my children until
your brother graduates, and then you shall
have more luxuries; but we must see that
boy through"
The years go by, and the son has been
ordained and is preaching the glorious
Gospel, and a great revival comes, and souls
by scores and hundreds accept the Gospel
from the lips of that young preacher, and
father and mother quite old now, are visiting
the son at that village parsonage, and at the
close Of Sabbath of mighty blessing father
and mother retire to their room, the son
lighting the way and asking them if he can
do anything to make them more comfortable
saying if they want anything in the night
just TO knock on the wall. And then, all
alone, father and mother talk over the
gracious influences of the day and say:
Wei, it was worth all we went through
to educate that boy. 1t was hard pull, but
we held on till the work was done. The
world may not know it, but, mother, we held
the rope, didn't we" And the voice, tremu-
lous with joyful emotion, responds: Eyes,
father, we held the rope. | feel my work is
done. Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation" "Pshaw" says the father. II
never felt so much like living in my life as
now. l want to see what that fellow is going
on to do, he has begun so well.n
Something occurs to me quite personal. l
was the youngest Of large family of child
rem. Ny parents were neither rich nor poor;
four of the sons wanted collegiate education,
and four obtained it, but not without great
home struggle. We never heard the old peo-
pie say once that theywere denying themselves
to effect this but l remember now that my
parents always looked tired. l don't think
they ever got rested until they lay down
in the Somerville cemetery. Mother would
sit down in the evening and say: "Well,
| don't know what makes me feel so
tiredW Father would fall Immediately
to sleep, seated by the evening stand
overcome with the days fatigues One Of
the four brothers, after preaching the gospel
for about fifty years, entered upon his heav
| ,1rr A ..-G
other side of the EARTH a missionary of the
cross. Two of us are in this land in the home
ministry, and think all of us are willing to
| acknowledge our obligations to the old folks
at home. About twenty one years ago the
one, and about twenty-three years ago the
other, put down the burdens of this life, but
they still hold the rope.
y, men and women here assembled, you
brag sometimes how you have fought your
way in the world but think there have been
helpful influences that you have never fully
| acknowledged. Has there not been some in
| tiuence i'll your early or present home that
the world cannot see? Does there not reach
to you from among the New England hills,
| or from western prairie, or from southern
| plantation, or from English or Scottish or
| Irish home cord of influence that has kept
| you right when you would have gone astray,
and which, after you had made q crooked
track, recalled you! The rope may be as
| long as thirty years, or five hundred miles
long or three thousand miles long, but hands
that went out of mortal sight long ago will
hold the rope. You want very
swift swift horse; and you need to rowel
him with sharpest spurs and to let the
relns lie loose upon the neck and to give a
shout to the racer, ii you are going to ride
out Of reach of your mothers prayers. Why,
3 ship crossing the Atlantic in six days can't
sail away from that. A sailor finds them on
the lookout as he takes his place, and finds
them on the mast as he climbs the ratlines to
dlsentaigle a rope in the tempest, and finds
them swinging on the hammock when he
turns in. Why not be frank and acknowl-
| edge 1.-THE most of us would long ago have
been dashed to pieces had not gracious and
loving hands steadily, lovingly and nightly
held the rope.
But there must come time when we shall
| ma out who these Damascenes were who
lowered Paul in the basket and greet them
ana all those who have rendered to God and
the world unrecogniZed and unrecorded
services That is going to be one of the glad
eXcltementS of heaven, the hunting up and
picking out of those who did great good on
earth and got no credit for it. Here the
church has been going on for nineteen GEN.
turtles. and yet the world, has not recognized
the services of the people in that Damascus
balcony. Charles G.. Finney said to dying
Christian " Give my love to St. Paul when
you ihecG MN. When you and L meet him,
as we will, shall ask him to introduce me
TO those people who got him out of the
Damascene peril
Nego INTO long sermons to prove that we
VIII ne able to recognize people in heaven
when there is one reason we fail to present,
ana that is better than all---Ctod viii intro
duce us. We shall have them all pointed out.
You would not be guilty of the impoliteness
OF having friends in your parlor not intro
duced, and celestial politeness will demand
Inat we be made acquainted with all the
heavenly household. What rehearsal of old
times and recital of stirring "reminiscences!